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surely anything goes in terms of gear/traits/skills. The main question would be is the subject allowed to fight since loot might allow him/her to stay alive better in the harder areas.

we could have the guards made out of a single class though. So 4 Guardian racing 4 Mesmers or 4 Rangers to make it really interesting.

I like the idea the person is passive - alla team fortress classic where the soldiers need to escort the useless bowler hat. Plus actually the guards should all be different classes, no one the same or just two separate mini parts to the challenge, one mixed team one specialist.

Portals allowed, as is retreat and other skills that buff the runner.
not sure about equipment/skills for runner. I reckon anything goes the first time, we can handicap or restrict skills/party composition subsequently.
rata sum to grenth would be a good one, Saf, the Tyrian lands end to John O'groats

So 4 Guardian racing 4 Mesmers or 4 Rangers to make it really interesting.

Or really imbalanced. Some classes can provide permanent swiftness boost (pretty much something every team will be striving for), plus aegis and protection. From a certain point onwards damage reduction won't play a role anymore, as everything will be oneshotting the runner. So, aegis and invisibility, as well as reflects and portals. If runner are allowed to use equipment, Thief, Warrior and Elementalist would be the strong choices in my view.

I think all classes except thief, engy & mesmer can keep up perma swiftness for a group; and Mesmer's have portals while thieves can perma stealth. so the only class that would struggle in this race is the engineer.

it would boil down to how well you can keep the enemies away in Orr, and how many levels your passenger can collect on the way in order to be more survivable when you get there.

From personal experience, a few levels won't do anything for you once you leave the level 20-30 zones. Thieves can provide stealth for the group, but that is sloooow and requires the runner to be able to do use Heartseeker (or other jump finishers), I would say. Engis can keep up near permanent swiftness on themselves pretty early on with elixirs (healing elixir, elixir B, throw elixir B) and can abuse AOE invisibility with smoke fields + blast finishers (see this video for examples).

As for the runner, Eles also have the advantage of a mobile downstate that allows them to move out of the crossfire and get away from enemies.

Edit: A group of thieves could go a long way with swiftness using the Thrill of the Crime trait and chain that.

Very minor reveals (culling, birthday presents, wvw tweaks)
so hoping for a major plot and game update from the speech.

think we need speculation and wager:
New zone! Scarlett (no relation, it's pure coincidence you never see us together) and aetherblades disrupt the speech, kidnaps Jennah, and we have an epic rescue. Through the ebonhawke gate to the crystal desert.

hoping its not time limited content, as the first day I can play it is September 1.

New WvW mastery skills as patch "features" have already become kind of a meme by now.

"Characters that are one year old will receive a Mini Queen Jennah, a 24-hour Birthday Booster, and a Scroll of Experience." Very disappointing. Nobody that has at least two or three alts needs the scroll of experience anymore by now (at least not more than one), same with more than one identical mini. This leaves the 24hours booster, which we know nothing about. Magic find? Gold boost? Or maybe even just an XP bonus?